Once in Every Lifetime
by Kanthia
Summary: A series of Tales of Symphonia drabbles written in part for the 365 Drabble Challenge. Contains spoilers. 38: This broken world needs fixing more than it needs love.
1. Pride

**Title**: Pride  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Regal  
Warning(s): Spoilers for...stuff.  
Genre: Gen  
Part I of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga

But the journey was long and hard, and Lloyd became a light sleeper. Kratos- _Kratos_- had taught him that. Professor and Genis needed their sleep, and he thought Colette did too back then, so it was up to him to look out for whatever midnight decided to throw at their little party. And if it meant waking up every time a bird landed on a branch near the fire pit, he was ready.

He was startled awake one night, the moon swollen and the stars brilliant, when a twig snapped. He wasn't even aware of himself until he was standing with swords drawn, ready to attack a shadow in the woods.

"Lloyd," said a voice, smooth but bewildered. Regal stepped into the moonlight.

"Oh- Regal. Sorry." Lloyd sheathed his swords. "I- you know, gotta be on guard."

"My apologies. I was- restless, and thought- I would train myself. I would not want to hold you back in a moment of weakness."

Regal was kind of weird. He was a prisoner, but he talked like a king.

"You're kind of weird, Regal," Lloyd said.

"I should have known better than to attempt to fool you, Lloyd. Now that I have woken you, would you like to join me?"

x x x

Regal's prison shirt was pretty neat- the laces came undone so that the whole thing could be kicked off without the shackles getting in the way. Lloyd's shirt joined Regal's and a careful application of his scarves bound his wrists quite well.

"I- can't- imagine- living- like- this," Lloyd said, in between sit-ups. Not being able to move his hands, even when he didn't need to, made him feel a little cramped. Speaking of cramps, though, his stomach was killing him.

"Eating was a little difficult at first, but the human body is surprisingly versatile." He sat up fully and draped his hands over his knees. "Do you know how to do a squat properly?"

Lloyd groaned.

x x x

But Regal was kind and cheery, let him take breaks when he needed them, never made him feel bad for needing them like Kratos did.

"You look perturbed," Regal said one night in the middle of another training session. They had camped by the ocean; the two of them were sitting chin-deep in the water, watching the moon. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I dreamt about Kratos again," Lloyd said, after a while. "His back. I keep seeing his back, because I'll never be as good as him."

"There are many definitions of 'good', though," Regal retorted, leaning back and letting his hair into the water. "Excuse me, for I do not know him well, but I believe he would be proud of you."

"Proud?"

"Proud," Regal said. "There is- something about you, Lloyd. You may understand it when you are as old as I am. It is easy to be proud of you."

"Huh," Lloyd said.

Far away, in the vast emptiness contained within Derris-Kharlan, Kratos' heart suddenly ached.


	2. Pride?

**Title**: Pride...?  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelos, Raine, Colette  
Warning(s): A stupid continuation of Pride.  
Genre: Gen  
Part II of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga.

Nobody knew about Lloyd's secret training sessions with Regal- not even when, in the heat of battle, he found himself disarmed and took out a monster with a single kick. It wasn't in either of their natures to speak about it, and battles were much too hectic for anyone to pay attention to something other than their immediate rival or a voice crying out. Nobody knew, but two people noticed.

"Zelos," Raine said in a low tone, wincing ever so slightly as she approached him. He turned, a smirk growing on his face. "...I need to ask you about something."

"Anything for you, my intelligent hun-"

"-It's about Lloyd."

Zelos' face immediately fell.

"You're used to- looking at people, right? Has the structure of his body changed at all recently?"

"Now that you mention it..." They turned in tandem to the other side of the inn room, where Lloyd and Regal were chatting amiably. "Bud's looking a little skinnier. Maybe he hit puberty."

"It would be odd to reach puberty so late, though," Raine said, missing the point somewhat. "It may be due in part to living with a dwarf. Perhaps Lloyd is a late bloomer."

"If Lloyd was a flower, he'd have a yellow center," said Colette, completely missing the point, and to prove that fact she walked over to Lloyd and tugged off his shirt.

Sheena had seen a lot of things in her life- being both a ninja and nobility, she was exposed to a lot more than the regular Tethe'allan. The one thing she wasn't ready for, walking into the room with Genis and Presea helping her carry the newly purchased sundries, was Colette in the middle of molesting Lloyd.


	3. Probability

**Title**: Probability  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Kratos  
Warning(s): Spoilers. Oh God, the spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

"Hey, Kratos. Do you believe in probability?"

Kratos tossed another piece of kindling onto the fire, re-evaluated the situation and looked up.

"Kratos. You listening? You know, probability. Chance and stuff."

The stars seemed a little brighter that night, most likely because Luna's seal had been opened only hours before. It was good to raise the hopes of the people in hard times. It kept the Chosen of ages past happily running to their deaths.

"Of course I -believe- in probability. Why are you asking?"

The boy from Iselia pulled off his gloves and admired his Exsphere. "No reason. Professor tried to teach it to me once, but I don't really get it. I figure that someone out there has figured out all the chances of stuff happening, and he must be really unhappy. Life would be pretty boring without those weird freak chances, right?"

"Right." What was he getting at?

"So I figure that there's a probability that somewhere, out there, my dad is still alive. What do you think?"

Kratos' mouth went dry. _He knows. He's known all this time._

"I want to find him," Lloyd said, completely oblivious, "And tell him- you know, that we killed Kvar." He lay on his back, staring up into the stars. "I wish he could have been there. But finding him is the next best thing."

"I…do not think so. Besides, your father killed your mother. Would it not be unwise to go looking for a criminal?"

There was a period of silence. To Kratos, it seemed as though the very air was being sucked out of his lungs.

"I'm a criminal too," Lloyd murmured, finally. The fire burned low and Kratos lit it to fill in the space left behind in the wake of Lloyd's words. "…Iselia was my fault. Maybe- maybe I'm not ready to meet him right now. When I do meet him, I want to be someone he can be proud of."

_Lloyd, I_- He forced himself up and reached for his sword. "Perhaps, but he would not be proud of your lagging left foot. You have training to do."

"Thanks, Kratos," Lloyd said. Kratos knew his secret's days were numbered.


	4. Six Days

**Title**: Six Days  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan  
Warning(s): Blood, late-game spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

Kratos isn't sure how long it takes before he stops screaming and passes out from the pain, or for how long after that he sleeps and is gripped by nightmares. When he wakes to the sound of the door to the sleeping chambers sliding open, in a moment of delirium he thinks it to be night- but then remembers that space is always black as hell.

"K-Kratos," says the intruder, stumbling in; he presses a light switch and reveals himself to be Yuan. The bandages wrapped around his torso are stained deep red, and he is holding his stomach.

"Yu-" Kratos attempts to sit up and is gripped by a brutal pain that suddenly paralyzes him. He shudders violently and vomits blood on the white-stained-red sheets, then falls back into his bed, shaking.

"Sh-shit. I- came to- s-see you." Yuan attempts to walk over to the bed, but collapses onto the floor halfway there.

"I...see." Slowly, he moves his left hand through waves of pain until it sits over his heart; the raised pattern of scars reminds him that he is a tool now, a tool in Mithos' hands, only good for as long as the boy needs Origin's seal.

Yuan curses and pushes himself up, sliding over to where he can rest against a wall. He reaches up and dims the lights, and though his blurry vision Kratos can make out the pale image of a pair of iridescent wings beginning to form. Whether or not they have the space within themselves to regret their decision, it is much too late.

"S-started," Yuan grunts in the space between laboured breaths.

"How…long?"

"S-six- days…Earth…Earth t-time."

_Six days and we've been reduced to babbling fountains of blood._ Kratos does not speak, his tongue dumb in the aftermath of the transformation.

_Six days since Martel was alive…and I was human._


	5. Lost in Translation

**Title**: Lost in Translation  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Kratos  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

There was something really, really strange about holding hands with Colette. He'd held hands with a lot of girls ever since he'd learned that holding hands was not a form of sexual intercourse, but there was something different about Colette- a strange sort of release, like letting go of a breath, right when they closed the space between them.

He asked Genis about it, who shrugged his shoulders and said that Lloyd was acting stupid (it wasn't as though Genis understood, but he liked to pretend that he did). After he asked her, Raine immediately began to sit next to them whenever they were close, watching to see what happened when Lloyd's Exsphere hand met Colette's, a little notebook in her hands. Not expecting any sort of answer beyond a 'hmm,' he went to ask Kratos.

"Hey, Kratos," he said, overtaking the mercenary who was examining his sword by the dim light of the fire in the Asgard inn. "Hey. Kratos?"

Kratos gave him the Kratos look. "Yes, Lloyd?"

"I have…a question."

There was a pause. "…It will not be answered if you do not ask me."

"Right." He thought about how to phrase it. He didn't know exactly what was going on, and it happened when Colette's hand touched his but not any time else. "Um. My body does strange things when Colette touches me. What d'you think's going on?"

"…Strange things."

"Yeah, strange things. …When she touches me."

Kratos' face turned red. "Ask Raine."

"She thought it was 'fascinating' and started watching us every time and taking notes. I thought you'd understand these sorts of things better."

Kratos coughed, the colour quickly draining from his face, and turned away. "It's…part of growing up."

Genis picked the exact perfect moment to enter the room, saying that if they didn't hurry up there'd be no dinner left. Lloyd left with him, leaving Kratos (for the first and last time) lamenting the fact that the Dwarven Vows didn't include anything about the birds and the bees.


	6. Nourishment

**Title**: Nourishment  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Regal  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Part III of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga.

Lloyd opened his eyes suddenly, wrenching himself from sleep to the now-familiar scene of the moon and stars and treetops forming a canopy just below them. He was lying on his back, then, and after a few seconds tuned in to the sound of a fire crackling and the scent of meat cooking. His stomach growled so intensely it almost hurt. He pushed himself up slowly, shaking his head when the dizziness came.

"Lloyd," Regal said, looking up from where he was tending to the fire. Fifty metres away the rest of their group was still sound asleep.

"How…long was I out?"

"About ten minutes, give or take. Enough time for me to catch something. How long as it been since you last ate?" He took the spit off of the fire, and carefully slid the meat onto a plate.

Lloyd thought about it for a while. "…Must have been breakfast, yesterday morning."

"You ate half an apple that Colette gave you. When was your last full meal?"

"Uh. The other day, when we were in Meltokio."

"That was three days ago." He handed the plate to Lloyd, who dug into it with the spirit of a starving man. "I have reason to believe that you collapsed from hunger. You need to treat your body better."

Lloyd said nothing apart from a quiet whine when he burned the back of his throat and Regal, who usually was content to let silence sit between the two of them, felt oddly uneasy.

The boy had probably shot up two or three inches in the months his journey began- his clothes didn't fit as well as they should have. But at night, when they had taken to discarding their shirts to be less restricted, he was beginning to see the spaces between Lloyd's ribs and the concavity of his stomach.

"How much do you weigh, Lloyd?"

Lloyd, who was finished, put down the spit. "'Bout fifty-seven, fifty-eight kilograms, last time I checked. Why d'you ask?"

He was about one hundred seventy-eight centimetres, and who knew how much weight he had lost since he had last weighed himself…even in such a chaotic age, to see a boy like Lloyd malnourished struck a chord within Regal.

"You should rest," he said, changing the subject to cover his burgeoning emotion. Lloyd opened his mouth to protest that they still had pull-ups and sparring left, but whimpered and clutched his stomach. Eating too fast would do that to anyone.

"…We'll have to alter your diet," Regal thought out loud. "Perhaps some ham with breakfast…you need fats, too- a stew with dinner…"

Lloyd groaned and rolled over. Smiling, Regal grabbed a blanket from a nearby pile and carefully arranged it over him.

"I'm sorry for making you worry," he said.

"It's not your fault," Regal replied. "You didn't know better."

_Besides, I've always wanted to have a son._


	7. Strong and Stupid

**Title**: Strong and Stupid  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Regal, Raine  
Warning(s): Vague spoilers for the Sylvarant Tower of Salvation.  
Genre: Gen  
Part IV of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga.

Raine was leafing through a book on the Balcrouf Dynasty, stealing a rare moment of peace just after the sun had risen, when Regal found her.

"Raine," he said, taking a seat on the ground next to the stump she was on.

"Regal," she replied. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I was planning on teaching Genis how to make pancakes, but it requires a low, hot fire that has been burning for some time."

"I see." She returned to her book. Several minutes went by before Regal spoke again.

"You…consider yourself to be Lloyd's caretaker in the absence of his father, am I correct?"

She paused to think about it. "I suppose so. Why do you ask?"

"With your permission, I would like to place him on a diet."

"A _diet_?" She put the book down. "Regal, what are you insinuating? Lloyd has-"

"-Lost a significant amount of weight recently, I am aware. While we cannot control the amount of energy he expends in one day, with proper nutrition he may become healthy again."

"Ah. That kind of diet. …Certainly."

"You are not going to ask why I am so concerned about him?"

"Like you said, I'm his caretaker." She gave him a small smile. "As his teacher, I know more than anyone about the way he makes you feel- he brings out the parent in everyone. Even you."

"Being in prison has not removed my tendency to fret over children," he said, and they shared a laugh. "Well, I suppose that I should be thankful."

"And I as well, that he has someone like you to look after him. Ever since Kratos left…"

"I understand. But he does not seem like the kind of person to be consumed by such things. I'm glad we have him- just being around him makes one feel hopeful."

"I agree- the world needs someone like him," Raine said. "He has enough strength to fight against whatever stands in his way, but lacks the sense to turn and flee when things get dangerous. Strong…and stupid."

"Strong and stupid," Regal said in agreement, and thought of himself.


	8. It Happened Over Oatmeal

**Title**: It Happened Over Oatmeal  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Regal, Lloyd  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Part V of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga.

"Professor, do I have to eat _all this_? I mean, it's tasty, but…"

"Geez, Raine. Are you falling in love with Lloyd? Because the great Zelos Wilder is a much better- ow!"

"Yes, Lloyd, you have to eat it all. You haven't been eating well, and we're concerned that you're missing out on important nutrients- protein, iron, zinc, calcium…"

"If Lloyd was missing pro-teen, would that make him a con-teen?"

"No, Colette. Sis is just babying Lloyd. Again. Want another pancake?"

"Genis! Which reminds me. Have you experimented with radish in the pancake mix like I suggested?"

"…The probability of that being tasty is approximately sixteen percent."

"Nice. To be fair, though, in the Igaguri style we sometimes put potatoes in our pancakes."

"Potatoes in pancakes? Fabulous! I must research this new combination of starches!"

Regal pulled Lloyd, who was struggling with the remains of a bowl of oatmeal, aside. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit sick," he said.

"It's to be expected. I'm just glad we caught this before it became a liability in battle." He stuck his own spoon in the bowl and tasted. "It's a little thick…I'll put more water in next time."

"And some raisins." Lloyd rubbed his stomach.

"Raisins would be a nice touch." He sighed, and smiled. "Tonight we'll strap a pair of greaves on you and I'll teach you how to fight with them on."

Lloyd's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"As long as you are fine with that…Lloyd. The way you train with me and the way Kratos taught you to fight are very different. The next time you meet, he may not recognize you."

"I know." He spooned out the last bit of oatmeal and stood up, turning towards the sun. "But this is my own path that I've made for myself. I'm ready to move on."


	9. I Summon Thee

**Title**: I Summon Thee  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World  
_Pairing/Characters_: Sheena, Marta  
Warning(s): Spoilers for Chapter 8  
Genre: Gen

It took fifteen years, but eventually Sylvarant and Tethe'alla reconciled, forgave each other, and were prepared to move on. Her father was sent to prison- not like she wasn't expecting that to happen- and died there; she was absolved of her crimes, jointly because of her young age when it happened and because of the work she had done ever since. It took four thousand and fifteen years, but the Kharlan War was over and peace- real peace- returned to Aselia.

Peace had yet to return to her.

"You mentioned someone else at the meeting," a dignitary from Meltokio said one day after a particularly stressful meeting in Palmacosta, making conversation. "…As though he was with you back then, but he's gone now."

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said.

"I'm sorry, Lady Marta. Please forgive me."

"It's fine."

The man left her on the bridge (what was his name again?), alone with her thoughts and her heartache as she stared over the railing towards the sea. He didn't know, nor did he care, that she wasn't the one doing the most for the world. She could say words and kiss hands and spew half-truths but she could never do what he was doing.

"Marta?"

She turned around. "Oh- Sheena. It's…nice to see you."

The ninja smiled sadly with a tilt of her head. "How's the view? You look like you can't see it at all."

"Thinking," she said.

"I can tell. Listen…I made a Pact with him."

"A _Pact_?"

"Yes, I spoke to him through Verius. So if you ever need to see him- it won't be for long, but it'll be him."

"Emil," she whispered, turning away. "…Not now, though. Maybe some day."

"I hear you." She waved and turned to walk away. "And remember- we're here for you too. You walk as though you're in his shadow, but maybe he's in yours. And a shadow is as much a part of you as your heart is."

Far in the distance, a wolf howled.


	10. Learn By Doing

**Title**: Learn By Doing  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Regal, Lloyd  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Part VI of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga.

"They're heavy," Lloyd said, with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Heavier than I expected, at least. How do you wear them all the time?"

"You get used to them." Regal strapped the second greave down and admired his work- Lloyd's legs were smaller than his, but the metal plates fit him pretty well.

Lloyd stood, leaning down to pull his pants over the greaves, but Regal stopped him and rolled them back up. "The most important part of fighting with them on is learning the best place to hit with them. That is what we will be doing tonight."

"-Right." Lloyd took a shaky step and almost lost his balance. "…But I think you need to teach me how to walk first."

x x x

"Find your center of balance," Regal said, as they ran side-by-side on the shores of the Great Ocean.

"Easy- for- you- to- say," Lloyd managed between gasps for air. Regal took it as a cue to step it up another notch.

x x x

Lloyd was almost unable to stand when he sat him down. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah- just- give me a moment." Regal admired the moon while Lloyd calmed down his breathing. "Okay, I'm ready."

He picked up Lloyd's left leg. "The inside part will do the most damage, but will put the most stress on your body if you hit with it too hard. You should use it only when…"

Lloyd was fast asleep. Regal sighed, rolled the boy's pants over the greaves, and carried him back to bed.

x x x

Regal prided himself on his observational skills- being a businessman, it was necessary to be able to read a person's strengths and weaknesses at a glance. Lloyd was much more complicated than the average Tethe'allan entrepreneur or noble but even so there are certain things about the body that do not change much from person to person.

So he left the greaves on Lloyd and told him to wear them in battle. Lloyd, after all, was a trial-and-error kind of person- he learned by doing, not by being told. Over the next few weeks his new diet and the constant weight on his legs were certain to have a positive effect on him.

And so Regal, like everyone else in the party, learned to step back and watch.


	11. Change

**Title**: Change  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Kratos  
Warning(s): Spoilers!  
Genre: Gen  
Part VII of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together Saga. Last one for a while, ha ha.

Kratos has to look twice when Lloyd shakes himself free from the group in front of Origin's seal- there is something very different about the boy he loved. Whatever it is it's not obvious. Lloyd seems to be standing straighter now, and there is something in his eyes that reminds Kratos of a four-thousand-years-lost Mithos.

"I'm not going to hold back this time," he says, to cover his own confusion.

"I know," Lloyd returns. "I won't either."

He says it with such _conviction_ that Kratos knows his hunch is true; Lloyd has changed.

As soon as they lunge at each other he realizes that it's not just his son's purpose or drive that has reinvented itself. Where Lloyd used to press forward recklessly, a boy covering his lack of confidence by abandoning his safety, he moves more carefully now- _like an animal stalking its prey_- and Kratos suddenly realizes that if he doesn't kick it up he's going to lose.

They trade blow for blow, horribly even; somehow, somewhere in the last months, Lloyd has gotten much better. He drives forward with more power, steps with more authority, and commands his swords with more grace than Kratos remembers him ever having.

By a stroke of luck he manages to knock away one of the swords. Lloyd throws away the other one and, while Kratos is still stunned by this, knees him straight to the chest. Something much harder than flesh and bone comes into contact with him, and Kratos hears the sound of his ribs cracking as he flies backwards.

He coughs and sees blood. Before he has a chance to stand up, Lloyd is over him, a look of concern on his face. His pants are shredded enough that Kratos can see the glint of metal underneath.

_Well,_ he thinks, comforted even as his vision fades,_ He's worried unnecessarily about his enemy. Some things never change…_

Somewhere within himself, he's proud of Lloyd.


	12. Another Time

**Title**: Another Time  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia / Tales of Phantasia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Cless  
Warning(s): Major spoilers for Symphonia, minor spoilers for Phantasia.  
Genre: Gen

"Four thousand years, huh?" Lloyd stoked the campfire and regarded the newcomer carefully. For someone coming from a time so far in the future, he certainly didn't _look_ all that…technological.

"Yeah, four thousand years. I meant to jump one hundred years, but something must have gone wrong." He exhaled, then offered a small smile. "I'm sorry for crashing…"

"Hey, not a problem. The trees'll grow back in time, and I'm glad your time thing just needs some time to repair itself. I don't think we'd have the parts."

Hours earlier, he had been spending some time with Yuan and the Tree when a deafening crash had resounded from the woods to the south. Almost by instinct, too used to that fear settling in his stomach, he had flown over to where it happened- and discovered a battered machine lodged in the ground with an unconscious boy inside.

He stirred and woke just before sunset, once Lloyd had already gotten some meat over a fire going and was cutting up bread and cheese, and soon they began to talk. His name was Cless Alvein, he said, and he came from four thousand years in the future.

(Lloyd had seen too many crazy things in his life to not believe him.)

"So," he said, reaching into his pack and offering Cless an apple, "What's it like in the future? Is everything automated? Are all your buildings made of metal?"

"No," Cless said, laughing. "Actually, it looks kind of the same as here. The most advanced technology in our time was excavated from ancient civilizations- like, we found these things called Rheiards-"

"Reihards, huh? I have one of those. They were invented kinda recently."

"Recent for you, maybe." They laughed again. "…But yeah, the future's not too different than now."

He had a thousand questions, but no way to ask them. "So."

"Nice moons out."

Lloyd looked up. "I suppose so. It's still a little uncomfortable for us- we've lived under one moon our entire lives. …Which reminds me. Do you have a Great Tree in your time? And a tree spirit named-"

"-Martel? Is she in your time too?"

His heart suddenly swelled with- with something, and it might have been joy. "Yeah. She helped us out a lot when we were trying to unite the worlds, and she's protecting the Tree right now while it's still vulnerable. I can take you to see it, if you'd like."

"I'd like that," Cless said. "We were trying to protect the Tree in our time, too. A monster named Dhaos came from a comet called Derris-Kharan, and he was putting it in danger- in a way."

"What?"

"Dhaos."

"No, what was that place called?"

"Derris-Kharan. Have you heard of it in your time?"

_An L. Kratos renamed it, and he took out an L._ "…I guess so. I think there are some things I need to tell you."

"And things I need to tell you, as well," Cless returned, and they turned towards the Tree.


	13. The Love Doctor

**Title**: The Love Doctor  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelos, Genis, Presea, Genis/Presea  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

"Zelos," Genis said, already regretting asking him, "I need your help."

It was weird enough that they were staying in his house- well, mansion- for the night, but the fact that Genis was actually asking Zelos for help was the end product of his desperation. He had no idea what to do.

"Oh? And what could you possibly want from me?"

Genis blushed and looked down to his right. "I want to tell…Presea."

"Sorry?"

"I want to tell Presea."

"What was that? I can't hear you."

The intended response, of course, was Genis shouting and waking the whole house- but for all his young age, he knew better. So he reached up, tugged hard on Zelos' ear until it was level with his mouth, and said "I _want_ to tell Presea," straight into it.

"Ow! Geez, not so loud." Zelos grabbed his hurt appendage as soon as Genis released it. "You're looking for advice on _love_ from the great Zelos Wilder? You've come to the right place, little brat. You're a difficult case, but Zelos Wilder prides himself on never considering anyone impossible."

"Right, right. So what should I do?"

"Well. She's a pretty reserved young lady- and in my experience (of which there are many) her kind prefers a tearful, heartfelt confession in a secluded place."

"_Tearful_? I dunno if I can do that."

"Well then." He patted Genis on the head. "I guess you'll never get her. Now run off and get to bed, will you?"

x x x

Presea opened the door to Genis' room to investigate the noise and found him crying on his bed. He was lying down, turned toward the window, away from her.

"Genis?"

He jumped at least fifteen feet into the air and sat up. "Pre-Pre-Presea!"

"I heard a sound and decided to investigate." She stepped closer and touched his face. "You've been crying. Is something the matter?"

"Presea, I-" He cleared his throat. "I lo- lo- lo- _really_…like you."

"And I really like you too," she said, confused, but smiled when the grin burst out onto his face.

Out in the hall, Zelos (who had asked Presea to go check on the noise) nodded his head and considered it to be a job well done. _He may be a brat_, he thought, _but he's going to be okay._


	14. Very Tiny

**Title**: Very Tiny  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Regal/Alicia  
Warning(s): Spoilers, sort of.  
Genre: Adorable

Nobody _really_ cared about Regal. They cared about getting things from him- money, service, happiness- but he knew that nobody, save perhaps George whose job it was, really cared about him.

So of course it came as a surprise the first time Alicia chastised him for falling asleep at his desk. He was eighteen, a legal adult, and the sole owner of the largest company in Tethe'alla. She was ten, still a child, the daughter of an Ozette peasant who had deposited her at the city limits to make a living.

(Why lumberjacks were suddenly in the business of selling their daughters Regal did not know- but she was much better off here than in the brothels and slums of Meltokio, that was for certain.)

He had been sleeping fitfully (he always did), pen still in one hand, papers stacked up around him, when she had stumbled into his office. She shook him awake, waggled her finger in his face and told him in a sing-song voice that beds were for sleeping, not desks, and dragged him by the arm to his quarters. After he had changed out of his suit, to make sure he wouldn't leave and do more work, she climbed into bed next to him.

She was tiny, very tiny, with her pinker-than-pink hair and miniature hands and feet. She was one of the few people who smiled in her sleep, curling up into his chest almost like a daughter to her father, gripping onto his nightshirt as though if she let go he would return to his desk and his work and his heartache. He wondered who needed this more- him, or her.

He slept long, and dreamt little. When morning came he felt oddly refreshed; Alicia had gotten up earlier but there was a tray on the nightstand with tea and pastries. George had never approved of pastries. He smiled.


	15. Solace

**Title**: Solace  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World(-ish)  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan  
Warning(s): Spoilers like woah.  
Genre: Gen

"Kratos," Yuan says.

"Yuan," Kratos replies, his voice crowded with static. As the mana link strengthens, so does the image. "How are you doing?"

"Fair enough. The world is struggling, but overcoming a struggle is what the eight of them were made to do."

Kratos gives a small smile. "You have not answered my question. How are you doing?"

"Myself?"

"No, not yourself. Of course I mean you."

"Fine, I suppose. Your son- he gives me solace, even if just a tiny portion."

"…I worry that we have condemned you to a fate worse than death." The Kratos in the image sighs, and his shoulders drop; it's the first time Yuan has ever seen a hint of his advanced age, and it frightens him. "Have you spoken with her?"

"For short periods, yes. But she is quite newly formed."

"Does she-"

"Yes and no. She has memories of my proposal, but memories are all she has- as a Summon Spirit she has no emotions- at least, none yet."

"I am…so sorry, Yuan."

"Peace, Kratos. It isn't your fault. Besides, in this peaceful world there is time for me to build a new relationship with her."

Yes, perhaps Yuan wasn't happy, because there was little for him to be happy about- Botta was dead, the Sylvaranti and Tethe'allans wouldn't play nice, Martel had forgotten that she loved him- but he was at the very least at peace. Over four thousand years he had slowly grown used to constantly feeling on edge, and it had aged his mind.

"I suppose so. But please, do not take on the full burden and allow it to take you over. At the very least, you have the eight of them to turn to."

"It's eight more than we used to have," Yuan says, and for the first time in a long, long time he feels a glimmer of happiness and hope- for himself.


	16. At First

**Title**: At First  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Anna  
Warning(s): Spoilers for spoilers  
Genre: Gen

It's not love at first. Kratos is absolutely certain that it's not love at first, not because he is in the business of lying to himself but because he has no space in him to love. He simply is interested in looking out for her- and once he has ascertained that her life is no longer in danger from the crystal or the Desians, he will leave her for Welgaia...

"You look upset, Kratos," Anna says, tugging at his hand. He isn't holding her hand because of anything other than the fact that she is still frail from years at the Ranch and needs the support. They are poking through hair clips in the Asgard market- but he's only buying her one because her hair gets in her eyes and it slows them down, not because of the way her face lit up when he told her she could pick any of them.

"Just thinking," he replies, a tad late. But the same way he waits for her when she cannot run as fast as him (only because he had to), she waits for him to answer before returning to the stall. She's patient when he isn't, a quiet confidence that makes him-

"My, what a lovely lady," a random passerby says, taking her free hand. She gasps and removes her other hand from Kratos' to curtsy; he is decked in rich clothing and jewellery, and it is quite obvious that he's rather wealthy. "May I ask the lady her name?"

"E-Elizabeth, sir." She straightens and dusts off her skirt. "And this is my- my brother, K-"

"-Kyle," Kratos finishes, before she accidentally says the wrong name. He can feel his face getting red- but not because he's jealous. Because...

...Well, because he's _extremely_ jealous.

The next morning he tells Anna as he parts her hair and arranges the clip to hold it away from her face. She laughs her beautiful laugh and tells him that she's touched, but that she knows better than to flirt with other men, for they'd probably end up skewered in their sleep.

After four thousand years, Kratos knows better than to lie to himself. Perhaps this is a sign that he, of all people, is beginning to change.


	17. Something Happened

**Title**: Something Happened  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Anna, Anna/Kratos  
Warning(s): More spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

It took Anna some time to realize it, since years in the Ranch had suppressed any feelings she had in that direction. But it was soon replaced, of course- both from a biological drive and from being in close proximity with Kratos. After living through so much dying and suffering she was suddenly filled with a burning _need_ to create life, to replace death.

But with Kratos? Sure, she loved him, but not quite that way. Besides, he didn't love her back. Though she wasn't completely sure about what it meant to be an angel, he had told her enough times that he lacked most basic drives.

Perhaps he was completely sterile.

The thought hit her with the force of an incoming gale, so strong it shocked her enough to elicit a gasp and tears sprung forth. He rushed to her side and pressed a hand to the crystal at her neck, and once he was certain that it was nothing but emotion he held her tight. She opened and closeed her mouth like a fish, gasping for air through her tears; she couldn't tell him, couldn't tell him how sad the simple thought of living forever without a future was to her.

But _something_ happened to him over the next weeks and months. It began with a sandwich when they stopped to eat. He covered it in enough lemon slices to kill a small animal but seemed to relish it as he ate it, as though he could taste. One night as they huddled in a small country inn she swore she can hear his heart beating very slowly, and a small bit of warmth radiated off his cold frame. She had no idea why it was happening, the human returning to Kratos -- not guessing that she could be the cause

One night, as they slept next to one other in sleeping bags she decided to practice. She sat up, watched him for a good while -- he was turned away from her, but she imagined his hard face softened, his dark features lightened, his somber expression peaceful.

"I want to have your child, Kratos," she said. It rolled off her tongue easily, and satisfied that he was sleeping and hadn't heard, she snuggled back into her sleeping bag and was almost asleep when it hit her.

_Angels don't sleep._


	18. Everything at Once

**Title**: Everything At Once  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Lloyd  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

"Kratos."

"Lloyd." The night is warm and the twin moons are full and heavy in the sky. Kratos has precious little time left in their new world and spends it reminiscing; Lloyd steals out of Dirk's house to join him, still trying to comprehend everything himself.

They sit on either side of a fire, roasting - something. The meat is mostly for show. Kratos does not eat, and Lloyd is quickly slipping down that path. Kratos sees it now, in the translucence of his eyes and the subtle flatness of his voice. It should worry him; it doesn't.

"I have...a question. If you're okay answering it."

"Mm."

"What..." He plays with a stick, peeling the bark off with his fingers. "What kind of person was Mom?"

Kratos does not speak for a long time. Lloyd does not question his silence - Kratos supposes the boy has figured him out - and lies back, watching the stars. Someday Derris-Kharlan will be a tiny spot in the sky, and it hurts them to think of that.

"She was everything at once," Kratos says, finally. "She had many things to be upset about, and she cried often...but she never let anyone control her without her consent. She was everything I could not be - which was strange, for our roles were almost reversed. There I was, the immortal male, who had less power over my own life than a parentless human woman in a Ranch."

"What made you..."

"Many things. After four thousand years I was empty and cold, but she never once allowed me to dwell on my shortcomings. She looked beyond my position as her superior and dared to make me look at myself...it was a slow process - but the sensation of learning to love her was less of falling and more of drowning."

"I-" Lloyd coughs, choking on his sadness. "-I don't want you to go, Kratos."

"And me neither," Kratos says. "But if there is one thing that your mother taught me, it is that we can only cling to our safe places for so long."


	19. So Cold

**Title**: So Cold  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Colette (Colloyd)  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

They held a little celebration in Zelos' house that night, trying to get over the strange feeling that it was all over and the next morning they would all go back to their old lives. After months and months of broken bones and hearts their old lives seemed eons away.

Colette woke in the middle of the night with a cold spot next to her in the bed and realized Lloyd was missing. She eventually found him lying on the roof, hands behind his head, watching the moons.

"Colette," he said, moving over to help her up from the balcony. She arranged herself next to him and followed his gaze up to the sky. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"A little weird," she admitted - after living sixteen years under one moon it felt uncomfortable to see both at once.

Lloyd sighed and moved closer to her. "Yeah, a little weird," he agreed.

She turned her eyes from the sky to him, suddenly very much aware of the subtle changes she only recognized from experiencing them herself. There was the dull shadow in his eyes, the hint of flatness in his voice-

"It's started," he said, reading her thoughts. "It was probably sped up by Mithos, when he helped me right at the end there…I tried to eat as much as I could at dinner, but I don't think I can do that for much longer."

Tears welled up in her eyes. He leaned over to wipe them away with a finger; she allowed him, and the finger lead to a hand which led to an arm which led to a hug. His skin was smooth and cold, like Kratos'.

"Don't let it happen," she whispered.

"You know how much I don't want it to, and that I can't stop it."

From the balcony, hidden from their eyes by the edge of the roof, Raine paused to reflect on how much they had grown and wept.


	20. Storyteller

**Title**: Storyteller  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, the Storyteller  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

They stayed for the night at the Storyteller's, unsure as to exactly why- Raine insisted that it was because night would fall before they got to the bottom of the mountain, but that could be the truth. They have walked with moonlight as their guide before; they just need time to process what they have been told. The things that they have learned are heavy in their hearts.

Lloyd found himself unable to sleep, so he shook himself free from his sleeping bag (there were hardly enough beds, so the men took the floor) and took a seat at the table, sighing. His body was exhausted but his mind was racing; he had so many questions that there was little space left in him for answers.

The Storyteller took a seat next to him and offered a mug of hot milk. He accepted it graciously, drinking slowly and enjoying every mouthful - it had a nutty aftertaste and a hint of something leafy and green. Somehow, he relaxed a little and felt better for it.

"Have you heard, Lloyd Irving," the Storyteller said, "Of the phrase 'I am writing blindly'?"

Lloyd took a moment to think. "No, I don't think so."

"It is an ancient saying, back from when our world was one. Will you listen to an old elf speak?"

"I don't see why not."

"Listen, then. We are not thinkers, Lloyd Irving, but storytellers. If you go today to a Human Ranch in Sylvarant you will find shadows of humanity in the people there, scribbling notes with in blood onto crevices or scraps of refuse – for what reason? The Desians are the only ones who will find these words, and likely will pay them no heed. To most denizens of this world, immortality is impossible but for leaving a message. It is in our blood to tell stories, Lloyd."

"In our blood," Lloyd repeated, dazed by his words and by exhaustion.

"Yes, a drive that we cannot control. And that is why I exist - to tell their story, the four of them. It is a great curse, immortality, for it breaks the drive that keeps us dreaming, the one that keeps us from merely being animated corpses. Whether we are aware of it or not, we illuminate the all-consuming dark with words. I am writing blindly."

Lloyd thought of Kratos, who in the Sylvarant Regeneration never once joined in when they told stories around a campfire; he thought of Mithos, alone and broken, dreaming the wrong dream. If he lived through all of this, it would fall on him to tell their tales.

"I am writing blindly, too," he said.


	21. Settle Down

**Title**: Settle Down  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Raine  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

She was sixteen and Genis was five when she decided they had been on the run for far too long, and it was time to settle down.

They had no money, of course, so she needed a job and a house, and a steady supply of food would be nice too; before they got those things, they needed a respectable reputation. She let her hair grow long and refused to cut Genis' when he whined about it getting in his eyes, wondering if that would be good enough to have them pass for humans.

Genis' hand firmly in hers, she was looking through the Help Wanted posters in Palmacosta - thinking that something with the Church would be best, since they would be the nicest if (that is, _when_) they found out - when she noticed the call for a schoolteacher in Iselia. While she knew nothing about teaching children, she knew a thing or two about…well, everything else. She tore the poster down, looked both ways to see if anyone else was showing interest, and tugged Genis toward the south exit of the city.

x x x

"Eighteen," she lied, hoping her mature features would give her story some weight.

"Eighteen, eh? Kinda young for a teacher." The mayor eyed her up and down - it hadn't been thirty seconds since the start of the interview, and she already hated him. "- But I don't have anyone better, and those kids won't teach themselves. You're hired."

"I'm…what?"

"Hired, I said. You'll start tomorrow morning, I'll let everyone know they have a place to leave their kids. There's an empty barn in the western part of town if you need a place to say."

As much as she hated him, his generosity shocked her. She was suddenly crushed by the weight of her implicit lie, and how it made her a worse person than him. She watched his back for a moment as he walked away before opening her mouth. "Wait, I'm-"

He turned. "You're what?"

"An Elf," she said, turning red, and pulled back her hair. "Genis is too."

He closed his mouth and raised his shoulders. "An Elf, you say."

"Yes, sir. One hundred percent Elf, rest assured. I appreciate your kindness in accepting me despite my race."

"I've got my eye on you," he grumbled, but left her and Genis alone in the schoolhouse nonetheless.

She was sixteen and Genis was five when she found them, through deception, a place to live and a reliable income. She could only hope that they would be able to hide themselves in her lie long enough for the both of them to truly settle down.


	22. Teacher

**Title**: Teacher  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Raine  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

It was a bright Monday morning when Raine taught her first class. She had spent hours visualizing herself teaching -- standing in front of a group of attentive students (hands folded on their desks, smiles on their faces), an open book in her hand as she brought the subjects to life for them. Mathematics! She'd teach them the rule of three so well that they would derive unknown variables in their sleep. English! They'd study the old classics and create a new literary age in Iselia. History! She could see them now, leaning forward in their chairs as she gave them her passion for cultures and dynasties and the greatest stories ever told --

She picked up the bell on her desk and rang it four times, leaning out the window to make sure that all the children heard. There were groans as balls and sticks were dropped and they lined up and filed into the classroom.

Thirty minutes later, all semblance of her sugar-coated vision was gone.

x x x

"That dynasty was- Aaron! Stop that!- one of the greatest- Marianne, if you don't listen, you're going to fail the test tomorrow- in Sylvarant's- _Lloyd, would you get that out of your mouth!_—"

x x x

She was almost in tears by the time the day was over, and when the last child filtered out and the sun was half-set she asked Genis to leave the room so that she could let her shame and frustration out. There was no way, _no_ way she could do this. She was a learner, not a teacher -- she was only sixteen, for crying out loud! She barely knew how to raise Genis, let alone thirty misbehaving children. Perhaps she should just resign, hand in her papers to the Mayor, say that she could never --

No, she couldn't. She had to do this, if only for Genis and nobody else…he needed a quiet place to grow up, and Iselia was perfect for that. She just needed to get the kids' attention, garner their respect. The thought followed her about all night, as she took Genis home- _home_- and they fixed dinner together. By morning she had an outline of a plan in her head. It was all going to work out, somehow; if there was one thing Raine knew for certain about herself, it was that she would never say 'never'. Not to herself.


	23. I Had a Dream Last Night

**Title**: I Had a Dream Last Night  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Anna  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

The days in the Ranch were long and the nights longer. While the horrors during the day were real, at night they were imagined, which often could be much worse. Sleep only came with exhaustion built up over the course of days. It left the prisoners empty and cold, perfect for whatever new torture the Desians thought up.

In her second week she had stolen some rope off a sleeping guard. It was tucked away in a corner, under a loose floor tile; it gave her a semblance of owning property, which allowed her some humanity, and it gave her a last resort. No matter how bleak the situation became there was always suicide, and the thought of being able to choose when she would die became a comfort.

Anna's mother had the gift of foresight, and it ran in the family -- she could see into the future as well. It was nowhere near what her mother had once possessed, only giving her murky pictures of what lay ahead, but what had often been her curse was now the only thing keeping her alive. Her nights should have been filled with terrible images, but her days were already full of those. In those precious hours where she could find a bit of sleep she saw him over and over. He was never a face but a strong hand and an outstretched arm, one that was always cold like a cold night with one's back to a fire, carrying a promise of warmth within.

She spent her waking hours piecing him together from there. She imagined long, dark hair, a sly grin, a well-muscled chest to match his well-muscled arms, deep and sensual eyes, a perfect pair of lips --

It was tormenting, of course, because here she was in the prime of her childbearing years rotting in a prison. If she was anyone else she would dismiss it as the fantasy it was. But it was a _vision_, it had to be, and if that desperate hope for salvation was the only thing keeping her alive, so be it.

"This is A-Zero-One-Two, Lord Kratos," Kvar's voice echoed from nearby. She immediately tensed and drew her knees into her chest, pushing herself against the back wall of her cell. "It's a little…feral, but it's the best we have right now."

"I am not an 'it'," she called, a well-trodden retort that she used to cling to what humanity she still could call hers. A soft _che_ followed, and the two of them stepped in front of her cell. It was Kvar -- and _him_.

Oh, Martel, it was _him_.


	24. I Hate You

**Title**: I Hate You  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelos  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

"I hate people like you," Zelos said, not hiding any of his absolute disgust towards the person he faced. He could taste the venom dripping from his tongue, a vile, sticky sort of anger. "I hate everything about you. I hate what you stand for, I hate what you refuse to stand for, I hate that you pretend to be such a nice guy but are ready to turn your back on everyone you know for a little bit of goddamned _acceptance_."

The room was empty but for the two of them. If anyone else had been in there, Zelos might consider holding his tongue for the sake of his image -- but Zelos around others and Zelos alone were two very different people. When he was alone he let himself go and brought out the Zelos that nobody else needed or wanted

"I hate people like you," he said again, for effect; he was losing his train of thought to his exasperation. He really did hate them -- every time he saw them he was filled with a burning loathing. How dare they play this game of betrayal? How could they keep up this constant game of back-and-forth, helping sometimes and hindering at others? What happened to the glory and the dream, the dream of a peaceful place to rest one's head? How dare they call the world in genesis a world of their own? "I really -- really -- _really_ hate you," he finished, and the tears started for real. He raised a shaking fist and drove it towards their head with all his might, listening to the sound of someone breaking into a thousand pieces and knowing it would not stop the pain.

Lloyd and the others were waiting downstairs when he arrived, ready to head for Meltokio Castle to ask for entrance into the Latheneon. As he passed by Sebastian, he whispered that the upstairs bathroom was going to need a new mirror, for the old one had shattered with misuse.

_I hate you, Zelos Wilder._


	25. Uncle

**Title**: Uncle  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Yuan  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

Shella wasn't entirely sure how she got there. All she knew was that her feet were bare, her knees were bloody, her sundress was torn and Papa and Mama were gone. She stumbled forward a few steps, cutting her feet on the rubble all around – it was big here, big and warm and cold at the same time, and there was nobody around.

"Papa?" Her voice stretched out, and she imagined it going all the way to Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. "Mama?" Nobody answered. Tears filled her eyes and she fell down, starting to cry.

She wasn't sure how long she sat and cried for, but eventually she was aware of a man standing over her. He had long hair and sad, sad eyes, and looking up into them made her cry even harder. After some time he leaned over and picked her up, running a hand under her eyes to dry them like Papa did.

"P-Papa," she said, sniveling. "W-where's Papa?"

"Your Papa and Mama had to go on a trip," he said, hoisting her onto his shoulder. "They asked me to take care of you while they're gone. I'm your uncle Yuan. What's your name?"

"Shella, Unca Yoon."

"Uncle Yoon it is. Now how about we go back to our house and I make you something to eat?"

Papa and Mama said never to take food from strangers, especially when they were on the road, but even though she'd never met Uncle Yoon before she somehow felt like he was safe. She nodded and he turned towards a nearby cottage built in the shade of a huge tree.

"When will Papa and Mama come back, Unca Yoon?"

He was quiet. "…They'll be gone for a little while, Shella. But if you're a good girl and don't go looking for them, they'll be back soon."

Not far away, two bodies covered in blood and all else slowly began to dry in the noonday sun.


	26. Name

**Title**: Name  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Colette  
Warning(s): Spoilers out the wazoo.  
Genre: Gen

Martel stands before them, every part the goddess he imagined her to be – tall, proud, and a little bit sad. She gestures towards the apparition of the Tree, then places her hand back over her heart.

"The Tree needs a name," she says, softly but firmly, her feet leaving the ground. Hovering there, she looks to Lloyd, who suddenly feels like she is looking straight through him.

_The Tree needs a name. _He can think of a lot of names – but names are usually tied to boys or girls, and he doesn't want the Tree to be either. It needs to be a name that can be anyone at any time. A last name, then. But should it be long? Complicated? Short and simple?

Colette touches his arm and he turns to her. She gives a little smile. "Go on, Lloyd. Give the Tree a name." He considers _Colette_ but that doesn't seem right. _Martel_, then? Kratos? Yuan? Mithos?

His head turns to other places. He considers Iselia and Meltokio but the Tree withered first because Sylvarant and Tethe'alla fought each other, and he doesn't want to start another war by elevating one place over the other. Welgaia? Cruxis? Cruxis sounds good, but the name is tied to fear for so many. He turns back to Martel – the Church would like it, but what about the Tethe'allans who hate the Church? Then, what about –

The coldness in his stomach is a sign that he's found the right name. It's a name that means so little and means so much, homage to those who wept for a beautiful peaceful world, but foreign enough that few will grasp its full meaning. In time, it would mean more than either Mithos or Martel.

"The Tree's name," he says slowly, his ears catching the rising wind around him, "Is Yggdrasill."


	27. Research

**Title**: Research  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Genis, Raine  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

"What'cha up to?"

"History paper, man. Five thousand words. Due tomorrow."

"Ouch. What's it on? You picked a topic yet?"

"Think so. We're supposed to write about an important pilgrimage, and how its beginning decided its end…I'm doing the Last Regeneration."

"You got Professor Kassey?"

"Crazy Kassey, yup. This is why they shouldn't let language buffs teach History, huh."

"No kidding. But why do the Last Regeneration? There's no primary docs on it, man."

"Goin' straight from the Bible – Genis' diary, yeah? She wants an English paper, I'll write her an English paper…'sides, it means I don't have to go to the library."

"Hardcore, man. Hard-freakin'-core. Have any ideas to bounce off me?"

"Well, Lloyd was kicked out of Iselia for – uh – helping out an old woman at the Ranch, who was then used against him, right? And that's what started it all? I wanna argue that the Last Regeneration was a bunch of those things one after another…that things appeared one way and then turned out to be another. You know, Kratos, Cruxis, the Renegades, whatever."

"Deep, man. Can you write that in five hours?"

"Well, I'm screwed if I don't. It's worth fifty per cent of our term mark. It sucks that the diary is so freakin' hard to decipher, though – I'll probably just make some of it up."

"Good luck with that, then."

"Thanks, bud. I'll need it. …Now where was that part about them meeting Kratos…?"

x x x

"What are you writing, Genis?"

"Oh – nothing, Sis. I'm keeping a diary."

"A diary? What for?"

"'Cause. You know we've had so much trouble finding the seals, right? Well, maybe for future Regenerations if I left my diary for them they'd have an easier time."

"That's FABULOUS! Why, the very words you're writing may very well one day become famous artefacts! A perfect historical memory preserved for historians and archaeologists to submit to scrutiny and respect and oh wouldn't that be _fantabulous_…"


	28. Move Along

**Title**: Move Along  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Raine  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

And suddenly their world is safe and it's all over – Mithos is dead, the Great Tree is revived, and the world is one again. For the first time in months they lack a direction, so they camp for the night at the base of the Tree; they make a fire, pitch their tents and gravitate into a small circle of eight.

Sheena and Regal catch a small school of salmon from a nearby stream and cook it up with parsley and lemon. Colette and Genis make egg bread over a low fire, Zelos and Presea toss up a vegetable stir-fry, and Raine sets out the dishes (they wouldn't let her do anything else). Lloyd sits and stares at his hands, his face pale, his body stiff and cold.

Raine takes a seat next to him and touches his shoulder. He turns towards her after a while and smiles thinly, far beyond exhaustion, his body and mind far away from one another. He is happy – very happy, for his new one world; but he is sad – so sad, for the world they have lost, for the world he has lost, and for a dead boy named Mithos.

"We've lost something," he says, and she knows he's being vague not because he doesn't know but because he has a feeling and can't quite put his finger on it. And being around him has taught her to see the world how he does, and she mourns along with him for his lost innocence.

They eat the best meal that they've had since it all began that night. A cool breeze filtering through the leaves of the Tree carries the hint of a soft song as they talk over fish and bread and laughter and tears. By the end of the night the colour has returned to Lloyd's face, and she knows he's moved on.

That's the greatest gift they have. They may be fugitives with no place to live, all of them, but they know how to move on.


	29. Safe Places

**Title**: Safe Places  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Zelos  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

Zelos liked Mizuho – liked the warm days and cool nights, liked the smell of incense carried on even streams of air, liked the round swell of the moon, liked the busty girls in revealing kimonos. The politeness and decency he could have done without, but sometimes you had to make little concessions to appreciate the larger world. He could deal with bowing to everyone he passed and whispering what he would have liked to say out loud as long as it meant staying a little longer in this place.

Zelos liked Mizuho for its balminess and bustiness, but also for its character. When he needed a break from Meltokio's rude elbows and relentless questioning he found it the perfect retreat; it was busy but not nosy, vibrant but not loud. It made a statement without yelling it, and Zelos could appreciate that.

As he grew older, however, he found himself visiting Mizuho less and less. When he looked past the surface he found that Meltokio's questions were inherently empty and vapid, and in that way not dangerous at all, while Mizuho's quiet dignity saw into your heart without even bothering to ask. He couldn't be near people who could see beyond his exterior to what lay within, so he stayed away – kept himself within Meltokio's walls, where the women touched his hair and fingered his clothing and fell easily for his words.

He couldn't help but wonder from time to time if he had made the right choice – but he wondered about all his choices all the time, and the decision to stay away from Mizuho was a relatively minor one. The fact of the matter remained that Mizuho understood him and Meltokio didn't, and if there was one thing Zelos liked, it was to be misunderstood. It kept him safe.


	30. Missing Ingredient

**Title**: Missing Ingredient  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

Okay, so say you take a bunch of people and send them off to save the world. One part Chosen – she's gotta be there, all ready to die, 'cause that's what saving the world is all about. Hard to tell if she's really dim or if she just plays it to make everyone feel good, but hey, she was dead the day she was born. It doesn't really matter who she is, she's the Chosen.

The Chosen can't do it alone, so let's throw in some adults, yeah? Send in her teacher, she's gonna be the smartest one around. A bit of a nut case, but there's a story there – always a story. Still, she knows how to read maps and heal people…but she can't cook (Chosens don't eat, not after the transformation, but their escorts have to). So bring along Teach's little brother, good friend of the Chosen. He's kind of a brat, but he can cook a hell of a meal and has some good spells up his sleeve.

It's shaping up to be a good bunch, but with a girl, a scholar and a little kid it's missing in muscle. Well, Cruxis takes care of those sorts of problems. So chuck the party an angel in common clothes and call him a mercenary 'cause nobody doubts the mercenary. Yeah, his eyes are a little dark and yeah, his skin is a little cold but hey, we've got us a world to save. There's no time to wonder about your friends.

So we've got a willful Chosen, a protective teacher, a mouthy kid and a quiet double agent. It's enough to save a world. But it's not enough to save two worlds, no sir, because it's missing one vital ingredient: an idiot, an honest-to-goodness idiot.

I'll tell you why. The Chosen's standing up there, everything that made her more than an empty pile of flesh and bones sealed far away. Teacher's quiet, this is what the Chosen's supposed to do. Brat is silent, too young to even think about what he could do. Angel's off to the side, wondering if he should cry, job well done.

But if you get someone really dumb in there, this guy's gonna see past the convention and the pretension and realize no world is saved by killing the saviour. So he's the one, not the teacher or the preacher or the angel or demon, that's gonna jump in and save his Chosen. He and he alone. Martel, the world needs more idiots like Lloyd Irving.


	31. A Link

**Title**: A Link  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia / Tales of Phantasia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan, Cless, Mint  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

As Cless grew old, the hero-worship slowly began to fade as stories of their exploits began to take their rightful place amongst elder legends. He resigned himself with Mint to a little cottage deep within the forest and took daily trips to check on the well-being of the Tree.

Claus died, in time, and they buried him in Its roots; Suzu returned to her village to settle into the chieftain's duties while Arche never settled at all, wandering the world looking for something without a name or a face. Chester, finding the voice of the wild too hard to ignore, soon joined her.

Cless and Mint were walking together through the forest one morning when they came across two men weeping in an embrace by the Tree. They were both quite old – white hair and thin voices were testament to that – but held themselves proudly, even as they cried.

"Do you need help?" Mint was advancing on them before Cless had a chance to weigh the danger of approaching the two strange men. Even now, she still thought of others before she thought of herself; he followed her, a hand on his sword just in case.

It was only then that he noticed Martel had come down from Her branches and was sitting beside them, and as they approached she turned towards them. She smiled with recognition.

"These are the two I told you about," She said, talking not to Cless or Mint but to the old men that kept Her company. "Lloyd and Colette."

"I see the resemblance," one of them men said after looking them up and down. His voice, if at all possible, was not old at all, but had the command and the presence of someone in their thirties. The second man stood up and stepped over to Cless.

"I am Kratos," he said. "I am Derris-Kharran's steward, and you carry within you the spirit of my son."


	32. To the Past

**Title**: To the Past  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia / Tales of Phantasia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan, Cless, Mint  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

The men, Kratos and Yuan (they either had no last names or refused to give them; the topic had nonetheless never come up), accepted their offer to stay the night. There was only one bed and one cot in their cottage, so Cless and Mint pulled out some spare blankets and made themselves a cozy spot by the fireplace. There were carrots and celery fresh-picked from the garden, cans of tomatoes from the autumn prior and beans left over from their last trip into town; they cooked up a chilli, apologized for the lack of meat, and called it good luck when both men said they were vegetarian.

They ate slowly and talked slowly, likely due to their advanced age. Cless grew impatient waiting for some sort of explanation for Kratos' earlier outburst. Eventually he asked what their connection to Martel was.

"You wouldn't believe us," Yuan said, sucking on a slice of lemon.

"I've seen too many things in my life to disbelieve anything," Cless returned. "Mint and I fought Dhaos to save Martel – well, to save our world. What do you know about Dhaos?"

"Dhaos?" Yuan looked towards Kratos, who had a pensive look on his face.

"DAOS, I think. The Derris-Kharran Automated Operating System. I put Derris-Kharran in a wide orbit of Aselia rather than firing it straight away from the planet, with the orbit large enough so that it wouldn't return until the planet needed a mana seed. DAOS' objective was to collect a mana seed from the adult Tree, germinate it in Derris-Kharran, and leave...without me. It was the human in me – I wanted to die here."

Yuan tugged down the collar of his shirt and showed Cless and Mint the jewel set in the space between his collarbones. It was beautiful and multi-faceted, with a gold design around it, but the colour was faded. "It's called a Cruxis Crystal," he said. "Kratos and I are eight thousand years old because of them. Sit down – if you have any coffee, you might want to put it on. You want the story of how we know Martel? It's a damn long story, our link to the past."


	33. Record

**Title**: Record  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Genis  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

The figure that entered the university's library was tall and thin, but she guessed from the shape of their body that they were male. He (if it was a he) was almost completely covered in a long navy cloak that left nothing but a tiny space where his mouth was. Rather than give him a mysterious look it just made him look sad – like someone who had lost something and would never find it again.

"Is this…the Sybak library?" His voice was slow and pained but had an Elvish lilt to it. "It seems –"

"—Empty, yes." She had felt a pressing urge to finish his sentence, the sound of his voice somehow hurting her. "We're moving our archives and new arrivals to Venezia. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Sort of. Do – do you know about the Last Journey of Regeneration?"

"Lloyd Irving-Aurion and Colette Brunel? Of _course _I – well, I know _of_ it, but that was two hundred years ago. If you're looking for texts on it, we're proud to have the only known copy of Chocolat Alvein's –"

He waved her words aside with a hand, and as the clothing fell from it she got a glimpse of the mana burns on his skin; he was either a very novice mage, or a very skilled one. "I have something you might be interested in."

She watched him as he reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled out a worn book with a red cover. Inwardly, she sighed – another crazy, thinking himself an angel of Cruxis or a descendant of Zelos Wilder. But still, she took the book from his hand and opened to the first entry.

_23 Midsummer, 4054 AK. Decided to keep a diary, even though life in Iselia is so boring. Sis is giving a lecture on the Kharlan War. Lloyd still sleeping. Colette staring out the window. I hope Marble is okay._

_There was a light just now. Sis gone to investigate, thinks it's the Oracle. Lloyd wants me to go with him and Colette. Will record what happened._

_Genis_

There was a crawling in her stomach as she looked up, slowly. "Is this –"

He was already gone.


	34. Arrow

**Title**: Arrow  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Dirk  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen

On the day Lloyd turned thirteen (or, at the very least, it was ten years since he had started living with his father), Dirk called him downstairs and said he had a different sort of gift for him. As a tradition he had been giving Lloyd not an object but a lesson for his birthday – each year marked an increase in his abilities and repertoire of skills in such things woodworking or stone carving. But on Lloyd's thirteenth birthday he had something to give to him, or at least to return to him.

Lloyd bounded down the stairs, with a spring in his step that reminded Dirk that ten years spent living with a Dwarf had not erased any of the humanity in him. There was a small slice of cake on the table (brought from Iselia) which they shared, and after Dirk had delivered the requisite birthday beats and hugs he got up and retrieved two objects from the mantelpiece.

"It's time," he said, rather simply, "To give you your mother's keepsake."

(Years ago – on the day Lloyd turned six – Dirk had divulged that said keepsake was an Exsphere, but a strange kind he had never seen before, and that when Lloyd was old enough he could wear the memory of his mother on his skin.)

Lloyd nodded a little grimly, and stepped over to Dirk who took the boy's left hand (left-handedness was rather rare, but Lloyd was the kind of boy who worked with rather than around oddities) and placed the newly finished Key Crest on it. The boy's face tensed a little from the pain as he screwed it on, and after he was finished marveled at its strange shape.

"Like an arrow," he said as Dirk examined the hand to check for any flaws in the craftsmanship or application.

"Pointin' towards your future," Dirk responded. He took the Exsphere off of the table and drew it towards the Crest. "Don't you go messin' it up on me."

There was a small flash of light as it locked into place, and tears gathered in their eyes.


	35. Into the Dark

**Title**: Into the Dark  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

Part 1 in a series.

When Kratos returned to Derris-Kharlan he was a dead man. Everything about him, from the blankness in his eyes to his slouched posture, indicated that he was less a lifeless being physically and more a lifeless being entirely; something had destroyed him from the inside out.

Lord Yggdrasill had escorted him from Sylvarant and was now conferring with the angels about what punishments were appropriate, his smirk barely covering the chaos and anger in his eyes. Eventually he decided on solitary confinement – an angel wouldn't respond to pain, and mental torture at that point would break Kratos past the point of usability. That was Yggdrasill for you. At the end of the day, he was a child more concerned about himself than anything else.

Yuan sneaked down to Kratos' cell in the bowels of Derris-Kharlan, a place completely devoid of any light, pseudo-natural or otherwise. A small pocket-lamp illuminated dried blood and vomit on the walls, messages of anguish that nobody had ever bothered to clean off.

"Kratos," he called, finding the slumped figure that was once a man in a tiny cell at the end of the hallway. It was a crouching cell, small enough that he was forced to crouch and could not sit to ease the discomfort, and he was positioned facing away from the tiny slit in the doorway that was his only point of contact with the world outside his prison. It was never opened, as angels don't eat. It was hell, pure and simple.

There was no response. He wondered if Kratos had been silenced, so he called out again. This time there was a small grunt of recognition.

"…Kratos." He took a seat, leaning on the door. "Listen. I'm here if you want to talk, and if you don't want to talk, I'm here anyways."

"Yuan." Kratos' voice was distant, as though he was in a far-off place. To hear him so hurt and so defeated made Yuan's stomach churn.

Mithos would pay for what he had done.


	36. Close Behind

**Title**: Close Behind  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Kratos, Yuan  
Warning(s): Spoilers.  
Genre: Gen

Part 2 in a series.

Yuan wasn't entirely sure how many hours Kratos was down there for, but he was certain that it added up to weeks – days were harder to track up in space, where there was no day or night, only the constant dim glow of mana-lit ceiling fixtures. He made a habit of visiting Kratos whenever he could. It wasn't that he liked him all that much, old animosities of the Kharlan War taking more than four thousand years to heal themselves, but their bond was one of necessity as they held onto what little bit of human or elf was left within them.

On his forty-third visit Kratos finally spoke up. Yuan had slid into the blackness and sat by the cell door (he had brought a hand-light a few times to work on some papers, but Kratos preferred the total dark) and Kratos sighed, shifted slightly, and spoke with a low and dead tone.

"I killed her," he said, flatly.

"Killed whom?" Yuan turned out of reflex, not able to see Kratos even with angelic vision.

"Anna." There was a long pause. "She was – everything, Yuan. She was everything. She was loud and lively and beautiful in every way, and she never cried…not ever. Not even in the ranch, when they whipped her or beat her or whatever they had to do to feed that crystal. And she – my son –"

"Your _son_?" It was beginning to get complicated. Kratos' rebellion was more radical than Yuan had initially thought.

"She told me she wanted to carry my child. I – I thought I was dead everywhere, Yuan, but she taught me to make life out of death. I felt – free, almost. And I killed her."

Yuan had an inkling of what had happened; Kvar had sent up a report of an Angelus Project subject (A-One-Zero-Two, if he remembered correctly) transforming and thus having to be put down. What he hadn't specified was any of these important details, like it had been Kratos' wife or that he had killed her. Yuan wondered if Mithos knew the whole story.

"She had some foresight. Her mother gave it to her." Kratos' voice slipped even quieter. "…I wonder if she knew this would happen."

"If she did, to stay with you showed how strong…your bond was. Ask yourself what she would want you to do now that she is dead."

Kratos said no more.


	37. We've Come Half Circle

**Title**: We've Come Half Circle  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Lloyd, Regal  
Warning(s): None  
Genre: Gen  
Originally published on July 1, the 182nd day of the year - halfway there.  
To celebrate, have the ninth installment of the Regal and Lloyd Do Manly Things Together saga, ha ha.

A peaceful world has no need for heroism, for old men like him to strap weapons to their bodies and fight for what they believe in, so he (almost reluctantly) hung up his greaves and returned to Altamira. There was a pile of paperwork waiting for him there; after all, two worlds needed to be bandaged together, and they certainly weren't going to get along on their own.

But he had tasted too much of the open road and the way a sunset looks when framed by trees and water rather than curtains, and returning to a life indoors was difficult for him, to say the very least. He found himself distracted by windows both open and closed – he couldn't concentrate on silly things like diplomacy or bureaucracy anymore. The world he had created for himself was too small, and it was suffocating him.

So it was like food to a starving man when he was up late at night working on papers and someone knocked on the window. He turned and saw Lloyd, who had managed to avoid the guards by scaling the side of the building.

"Hey," Lloyd said, as soon as he was let in. "Look – I did it." He pointed to his legs, where he had strapped on the training greaves; Regal was shocked, knowing he would never have been able to accomplish such a feat at Lloyd's age.

Regal tried to turn back to his desk and failed. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought we could train some more…not like there's anything to fight, but I kind of – enjoyed it, and I thought you might have as well."

Lloyd was not a mind reader or a genius, but he had the sharpest intuition of anyone Regal had ever met. Putting aside thoughts of what the shareholders would say in the morning, he reached into his closet for his old greaves, strapped them on, and breezed out the window with Lloyd.

A peaceful world has no need for heroism, for old men like him to strap weapons to their bodies and fight for what they have learned to believe in…but it never hurts for men like him to stick around.


	38. Fix You

**Title**: Fix You  
**Fandom**: Tales of Symphonia  
_Pairing/Characters_: Colette  
Warning(s): Spoilers  
Genre: Gen

Remiel floats above her, watching, waiting, expecting. His eyes are dark and cold, fuming with both love and hate, and it's scaring her.

The land lies below her, watching, waiting, dying. It wants nothing more than her sacrifice, and will honour her memory with – well, maybe with a few legends, and then it will forget her.

What's she supposed to do?

She's the Chosen. She's supposed to do this, save everyone, fix the world. But there's a little part of her that doesn't want to. – She loves him, she really loves him, and it's going to go to waste even if he doesn't love her back. She never told him, and it's much too late now.

Kratos – oh, goodness, he had been their enemy all along – is watching her closely, his ears alert for the sound of the four of them rushing in. She's not sure how they're going to react when they see her. Genis might frown, Raine would sigh, Sheena would – well, she's not sure. Sheena was supposed to kill her, but Colette isn't sure if this successful death is quite what Tethe'alla wants.

Lloyd?

She doesn't know. He'd probably accept it and let her die, because he's been all for this regeneration since it began. If she is gone, there is no reason for him to miss Iselia. The thought is so distressing she would cry if she could – she's going to die and all of the sudden she doesn't want to.

"Quickly, Chosen," Remiel says, looking down on her like she's an ant about to be crushed. "I don't have all day." He is suddenly no longer her father or a human or a person who loves her.

She hears footsteps, quick ones. They're coming. She needs to do it – and she needs to do it now, to save them from the pain of indecision.

This broken world needs fixing more than it needs love.


End file.
